Some information about my training sessions and myself

Here's a video about myself and my training sessions.

If you don't know me personally, here's the chance to see a little bit more about what I am like and what I do:-

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6757479957707952128/

COVID-19 More restrictions than ever? (Modal Verbs for Obligation, Necessity and Permission)

 

Nowadays there are times that you're not sure if you're breaking the law with all these restrictions due to the pandemic. They seem to change on a daily basis and it's almost impossible to keep up with them.

Thinking about them in English we need modal verbs to express them, like:-

Obligation:-

MUST

MUSTN'T

SHOULD / SHOULDN'T

HAVE TO

DON'T HAVE TO

Permission:-

CAN

COULD

MAY

BE ALLOWED TO

Now try using some of these modal verbs to write sentences regarding restrictions about the following pictures:-

Now please watch this short video and use the advice prompts given to make sentences with modal verbs about how not to spread COVID 19:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH5zpa8xbic&feature=emb_logo

Feel free to write your examples in the comments below!

Thanks!

The three kings OR the three wise men??? (Los reyes magos)

 

Tonight's the night!!!

Vienen los reyes magos 😊😊😊

In English (especially British English) we normally refer to them as the three wise men and we don't get presents on the 5th or 6th of January. 

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about them in English:-

The biblical Magi^[a] (/ˈmeɪdʒaɪ/ or /ˈmædʒaɪ/;^[1] singular: magus), also referred to as the (Three) Wise Men or (Three) Kings, were distinguished foreigners in the Gospel of Matthew and Christian tradition. They are said to have visited Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. They are regular figures in traditional accounts of the nativity celebrations of Christmas and are an important part of Christian tradition.

And what about their names???

Later tellings of the story identified the magi by name and identified their lands of origin: Melchior hailed from Persia, Gaspar (also called "Caspar" or "Jaspar") from India, and Balthazar from Arabia

Hello, Julie speaking! Let's pick up the phone

 Today we're going to focus on some typical mistakes everyone makes on the phone.

When you pick up the phone in Spanish, we use the verb to be in first person.... e.g. Diga, si soy Julie.

In English that would be wrong, in English we would say it's Julie.

Let's try and correct some typical mistakes we make on the phone:-

1. I'm calling on part of my manager.
2. I'm sorry but it's communicating.
3. Keep on a minute, please.
4. Can you tell me who is the responsible for the H.R. department?
5. Can you please pass me through to Mr Jones?

You will find the answers in the comments below.

Here is an example telephone conversation:-

You may have seen some of the answers for the mistakes on the lefthand side on the page.

Here's the rest of the conversation:-

 Can you answer the questions about the conversation?

Feel free to leave your answers in the comments below!!!

COVID - 19 - Is it fake news or genuine news? Why are people compelled to believe it and share it???? (PASSIVE VOICE)

 At a higher level of English we can start putting certain grammar into a certain context.

For example, we can use the passive voice in the news.... Even in fake news.

To practise this we are going to use a current affair as is the COVID-19 pandemic.

I'm going to give you an example of an active sentence related to this topic and we're going to put it into the passive voice:-

A: In Brazil, people were opening coffins full of stones to prove people weren't killed by COVID-19

P: In Brazil, coffins full of stones were being opened by people to prove people weren't killed (OR weren't being killed) by COVID-19

How did we transform this sentence?

Step 1. Change the Sb and the Obj

Step 2. Put the verb to be in the same tense as the Main Verb.

Step 3. Put the M.V. in past participle (with ed or from the 3rd column of the irregular verb list)

Step 4. Add by and the previous SB (*** this can be omitted when we don't know who the SB is or when it is obvious that those people do that action, e.g. the police arrest people... Three people were arrested (by the police).

There is a very interesting video on the BBC language website that gives examples of fake news related to COVID - 19:-

VIDEO 1: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/course/fakenews/unit-1/session-4

In this video we saw some very interesting vocabulary like:-

Key vocabulary 

raise a red flag
make you think that something may not be true

fact-check
research if something is true or not

debunk
show that something is false, not true

verify
check that something is true

buy (into) something
believe something is true

groundless
without evidence

Now we're going to take the next step, using the passive voice to give news facts or fake news and speculate about their veracity. I'm going to give you three "news" statements about COVID-19 and I would like you to try to guess if they are true or false:-

1. A couple in Salisbury, USA, aged 65 & 67 were killed by COVID - 19, in hospital, within four minutes of difference.

2. On 17/09/20 almost 300 million cases in 188 countries have been declared by the World Health Organization (WHO). 

3. On 17/09/20 a death toll fast approaching one million victims has been observed across the world.

You can look into these statements using the links below in the comments.

So.... Why were you compelled to believe any of them? Or compelled not to believe them?

Here's a video that explains why some people are compelled to believe fake news:-

https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/course/fakenews/unit-1/session-5

Here's a quick summary of the key vocabulary that appears in this second video with a twist, I would like you to match the words with their definitions:-

Key vocabulary 

identity signalling     /    agenda   /   motive   /   algorithm  /  actor  

1. a plan of things to be done that may be secret or hidden
2. a person, state or organisation that uses power and influence to  promote an agenda
3. a reason for doing something 
4. showing that you belong to a group by sharing content whether you think it is true or not
5. a set of software instructions that, for example, shows you personalised content on social media

Whether we like it or not fake news is part of our lives and it doesn't help to overcome this pandemic at all. 

Is it good value for money? (Intermediate level)

Do you know the expression 'good value for money'? It means that something has a good price compared to it's quality (buena relación precio / calidad).

To start getting back into the swing of things (de vuelta a la rutina), we're going to have a look at contrasting connectors and a debate topic.

Here's a connector's map (like an underground map but with connectors) and I would like you to look at the orange line, the contrasting connectors:-

I'm going to give you some sentences with a gap and I would like you to fill them in with one of the connectors ( Whereas, otherwise, alternatively, nevertheless, conversely, although, instead of, however, on the other hand)

1. I was looking for a white wedding dress ___________ my friends all thought that was too traditional.
2. You could look for a job at a hospital or ______________ you could also work at a chemist.
3. I would prefer a face to face class ___________ an online class.
4. I think this car is very fast but _____________ it's not very good value for money.
5. I will have to pay the tax office _____________ they are going to fine me.
6. I think that globalization could be very positive for people to find new jobs _____________ others see it as an invasion.

Let's move onto the debate topic:-

Here's a debate question related to this expression and I would like you to try to answer this question using some vocabulary and the connectors we saw before:-

Some people say thayt the quality of a product is more important. Others say that the price of a product is more important. Which statement do you agree with and why?

On the following worksheet in section B you can find the vocabulary I would like you to use in your answer:-

Feel free to write your answers in the comments below!

What's in a name?

What's in a name?

LEVEL 1

Today we are going to use some familiar names to practise how to ask questions in English.

Here are the names of two people who are very important in my life:-

1.  VICENTE


2. GILLIAN


I would like you to look at these names and ask me some questions to discover why these people are important for me...... I mean, are they family members? Friends? Neighbours? Colleagues? 

So let's learn how to make a question.

The correct structure for a question in English has a simple formula:-

QU               A                S                    I                (QUASI)
question word         auxiliary            subject                        infinitive      ?

e.g.

What                 does           he/she                     do?
How old             is              he/she?
Where               does           he/she                     live?


Now you know why these people are important for me, let's do the same using some names of people who are important in your lives.